Companies with a culture of giving recognition to their members of staff have a staff turnover rate up to 31% lower than businesses that struggle to recognise employees.
It comes as no surprise that a simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way, with employees that feel valued by their employers willing to go the extra mile and stay around a little bit longer. The report by Deloitte states that employers that recognise their staff “have 31% lower voluntary turnover than companies with poor recognition cultures”.
That means that companies that continually strive to improve their workplace culture benefit from retaining valuable members of staff and not wasting money on all that comes with consistently having to find and hire new talent. You could be looking to spend £3,000 on recruitment costs alone per new hire.
Culture Initiatives in the Workplace
The value of a positive culture in the workplace simply cannot be underestimated. Staff need more from their careers than a bumper salary, with nine out of 10 people willing to earn less money for more meaningful work. That means that employers cannot subscribe to the belief that a healthy monthly paycheck alone with stop staff from looking for pastures new.
Employees want to feel as though they are making a difference, that their work is having a positive impact. Without some kind of recognition, your staff may be unaware of the effect of the time and dedication they give to the company and/or feel completely unvalued.
Recognition gives purpose to employees, letting them know that their job role does have meaning. It doesn’t matter whether they are a high-ranking CEO or a part-time shop worker, a company culture of recognition means that everyone pulls in the same direction, understanding exactly what their part to play is and why.
Without this culture in place, employees lack drive, motivation and passion for their role. A lack of recognition may mean that they have no goals and/or targets to work towards, or staff simply have no motivation to hit their targets as there is no attached benefit. Even the most self-driven employees’ motivation can wane if they don’t recognise the positive effect that reaching their targets has on the company.
Regular Recognition
Regularly receiving some form of recognition, such as a ‘well done’ or show of appreciation, helps keep staff motivated and increases job satisfaction. As per a study, up to 75% of employees that receive at least one form of monthly recognition are satisfied with their job. This can be either formal types of recognition, such as an employee of the month award, or an informal pat on the back.
That doesn’t mean giving out praise for every little thing that your members of staff do, because then recognition becomes devalued. When it doesn’t mean anything, you are right back to square one and, even worse, if you begin to scale back on giving out recognition then employees may believe that they are either not doing a good job (thus losing their confidence) or feeling devalued (which is exactly what you are trying to avoid).
Recognition shouldn’t just come from managers. Peer-to-peer recognition is part and parcel of a positive workplace culture, where colleagues are comfortable giving positive feedback to one another. This is achieved by creating a social environment where colleagues feel comfortable in the company of their team members, allowing for organic recognition to flow freely without the constant need for managers to decide what’s good and what’s not.
There is not any set blueprint as to how to create such a culture in the workplace, as every company is different as are the people that work there. Listen to ideas to improve workplace culture from staff to find out what they would like. This way, you can look to implement fun office culture ideas that you may not have thought of on your own.
Recognising Long-Serving Employees
Reducing staff turnover rates is always close to the top of the list of priorities for any manager, especially one in a company where retaining experienced employees is problematic. In any case, when an employee reaches a significant milestone, such as 10, 15, or 20 years of service, the company absolutely must be seen to recognise this loyalty – for the benefit of both the recognised employee and everyone else.
For the long-serving employee, they will rightly feel as though they should be recognised for their loyalty to the company – having undoubtedly endured both good and bad moments. Failure to present a valued gift at the very least can soon make the employee feel as though their dedication has been taken for granted. This will sap their motivation and, with that, their loyalty to the company as they look elsewhere for a company that will appreciate them.
Another reason to recognise long-serving employees is to demonstrate to others that the company looks after its staff. Employees who have been with the company for a short time may feel inspired by seeing a colleague’s milestone recognised to stay, wanting to be recognised similarly in the future.
When a company looks after its staff, its staff will look after the company. Recognition goes a long way to keep employees motivated and dedicated and should never be taken for granted, especially if your company struggles to retain its staff.